Financial education is one of the first steps towards empowering customers and their communities. Almost 70% of South Africans spend their entire income every month, and in many cases, spend more than they have actually earned. Mapalo Makhu, an award-winning finance coach, author, and founder of Women and Finance, has been at the forefront of RMA’s financial education projects. Her main focus was driving the 3-month #MoneyCare digital campaign launched on 23 March 2021. As the face of the campaign, Makhu gave valuable insight into money management, how to get out of debt on a low income and other useful financial education tips. Through a series of online financial education classes, she was able to engage with thousands of people seeking much-needed advice.
The success of the #MoneyCare campaign
Through RMA’s Financial Education programme, and the #MoneyCare digital campaign, we aim to help consumers spend wisely, reduce debt and adopt a culture of saving. This forms part of RMA’s Social Impact Strategy — a commitment to corporate social responsibility that creates visible, long-lasting change.
Positive outcomes of the campaign include:
- 12 669 video views highlighting the effectiveness of financial education through visual mediums
- 9 093 campaign reach — meaning our online content was viewed by more than 9000 people at least once
- 20 495 impressions — confirming our campaign content was displayed over 20 000 times across various digital platforms
- 4 065 campaign engagement — meaning more than 4 000 users interacted with the content, potentially learning something new about budgeting basics or getting out of debt
Overall, the #MoneyCare campaign helped make financial education engaging, accessible and practical. Many South Africans steer clear of financial advice and creating a budgeting plan because they have to confront the reality of their spending habits. As a response to these circumstances, the classes addressed topics such as learning how to get out of debt with no money and bad credit. #MoneyCare was a judgement-free platform to share budgeting tips and show people how to get out of debt. As an added bonus, 2 participants won a R10 000 debt settlement prize funded by RMA.
Future plans for Financial Education and Inclusions
Although RMA has made headway with our social impact initiatives, we still plan on promoting financial education literacy and inclusion in other ways. For us, this entails developing a programme that reduces major setbacks caused by injuries or deaths in a household. This will include adding resources and tools to our website, as well as promoting our available financial products. For example, RMA offers budgeting tools to make managing finances easier and potentially help people get out of debt. What is budgeting, if not the key to a better tomorrow?
Our Social Impact Strategy & Corporate Social Responsibility
RMA’s Social Impact Strategy is designed to promote economic growth, uplift marginalised communities, and alleviate poverty in South Africa. It serves as a definitive plan with measurable outcomes and clear societal impact. Financial education training is one of the many ways we can start to tackle poverty and promote economic growth. Spending money wisely and using a budget planner can improve your overall quality of life. RMA’s Social Impact Strategy consists of 5 key pillars:
- Responsible Investing
- Entrepreneurship
- Financial Education & Inclusion
- Innovative Skills Development
- Diversity & Inclusion
RMA’s key stakeholders include:
- Customers
- Employees
- Investors
- Communities
- Regulators and Government
- Intermediaries (brokers and healthcare workers providing services on behalf of RMA
Discover the other key pillars of our Social Impact Strategy
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Responsible Investing
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Entrepreneurship
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Innovative Skills Development
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Diversity Inclusion
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RMA will contribute R125 million over a period of 10 years to responsible investment in South African businesses.
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R58 million in funding has been contributed by RMA to supplier and enterprise development in South Africa.
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More than 250 persons with disabilities benefit from the Vocational Rehabilitation Programme that forms part of our skills development initiative.
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Given the socio-political context of South Africa,
diversity and inclusion is critical to RMA’s social Impact Strategy.
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The goal is to continually deepen our social impact to create long-lasting change within RMA and for all stakeholders. We act with care and compassion while trying to set South Africans up for a better future. Learn more about RMA’s Social Impact Strategy and projects by downloading our digital magazine.